Hedge fund firm SAC hires ex-Edoma manager Villa

LONDON, June 8 (Reuters) - SAC Capital, one of the world’s best-known hedge fund firms, has hired portfolio manager Louis Villa from Edoma Partners, the fund set up by ex-Goldman Sachs star Pierre-Henri Flamand that has so far failed to shine after a high-profile launch in 2010.

Villa, who formerly worked at equity hedge fund Talaris Capital, left Edoma at the end of April and joined U.S. firm SAC, which manages $14 billion globally, as a partner in its London office last month, according to the UK Financial Services Authority’s register.

The move comes after a tough period for London-based Edoma, which was set up by Flamand, formerly one of Goldman’s most senior proprietary traders, in November 2010 in one of the most eagerly awaited launches since the financial crisis.

Last month Reuters reported that the $1.8 billion fund, which make bets on corporate events such as mergers, bankruptcies and restructurings, was down 0.85 percent at the end of the first quarter, bringing its losses since inception to 3.1 percent.

In contrast, the average event-driven hedge fund gained 4.62 percent in the first quarter, according to Hedge Fund Research.

Edoma declined to comment.

SAC, headed by Steve Cohen, runs the bulk of its assets out of the U.S. Nevertheless, London-based SAC Global Investors was able to distribute 7.9 million pounds ($12.3 million) between its roughly 20 members last year, down from 19.9 million in 2010, according to a filing.